How to Make a Shift || Sewing Underwear From the 1600s || The 17th Century Attire Series. Pt 1.

Ripping apart hand-sewn seams. The funniest thing in the world. Hello, my name is Elin Averamsson. Dedicated history nerd and interested in recreating clothing from the past. In this little mini-series I'm going to try to create something I've dreamt of for a long time. Namely nothing less than a 17th century ensemble. Completely hand-sewn and based on contemporary sources from the time. All recorded and in four parts. Welcome to a 17th century attire part one. When I was 15 years old I had this dream. This strange dream of that I so very much wanted to make a 17th century costume. I could barely sew. I could barely anything about sewing in history. But eventually I actually did try it. Looking back at the pictures today I can though see all the small mistakes. Fabric choices, sewing techniques, fit, cut and style. But this dream did hang on. This dream of a 17th century outfit. Not fancy, not high class at all. But a completely ordinary working woman's outfit. The interest might have come from the fact that we a couple of years earlier bought a little cottage that was said to have been built in 1684. And from there on my interest for the time only grew. Now five years later I feel that it's maybe time to really try to make that. Really try to make that outfit that I've been dreaming of for so long. Where I could completely dive into this outfit and also this quite unexplored time in history. And what better place to start than the first garment and a couple of weeks ago. So why not kick off this little series with how I like to kick off most of my things. With a little cup of coffee in this specific kitchen. And that is actually quite suitable because this house is said to have been built in 1684. Which is not far off at all actually from that time where I want to recreate this costume from. But 1684. What time in history is even that? Well if we take a step back and look at Europe. We'll witness a time characterized and packed with war, religious conflicts, a rise in mercantilism and establishment of European contact with America. But also South and East Asia. The decline of feudalism led to centralization of power. With the Swedish king at the time as an example. Or three, all named Charles. All operated and expanded the land borders by help from France. Who under the rule by Louis XIV of France, grew even more apparent as the biggest European power and center of arts and culture. At the same time we had England. Who had made some attempts of settlements in North America. And saw here the time of the Glorious Revolution. Russia was soon to be led by Peter the Great. The Spanish was monarched by the last Habsburg. And the Holy Roman Empire, a former superpower of Central Europe. Fighted uphill after the losses of the Thirty Years War. And we know a lot about this. We know about the monarchs, the political changes and wars. And we know how these kings and queens and leaders that did all of this. Or supervised all of this looked like. But everyone else then. Of course you can say that time have its marks. But what about the people that built this cottage? In the forest, in the middle of nowhere, in South Sweden. An ordinary working person. What about them? Well, diving into this will soon present us a problem. Namely that the sources that we are presented in most cases. Is made by and for these wealthy half percent. But reading between the lines. Gathering a quantity of information will give us somewhat of an idea. We have artwork, inventories, Paris registers. Court records and some few surviving pieces of clothing. But to work through this is not the easiest. And interpret this is not the easiest. Because to recreate clothing from this time, the 17th century. Is not that popular. It's almost like the 17th century has for some reason been forgotten. Between the two giants in the reenactment. Namely the 16th and 18th century. There is not really a big group or big event that research and dive into this time. So the immediate help and guidance that you easily can find in other centuries. For example the 18th century is not really apparent here. Pictures and extracts from texts isn't one click away. And the information is much more scattered. So planning this project is not the simplest. Knowing what pieces of clothing I will need to create this complete costume. Just as the information about how they are constructed. And what seams I should use is much harder to find. So I will need to puzzle a bit. Or a lot. And also make some guesses. And pick the most likely alternative. Based on the matters, techniques and ideas. That can be found in other social classes. In territories and countries nearby. And in time periods found closely to mine. But in this video we're going to focus on one of the things that we surely do know. And the garment this working woman and everyone around her surely had. But which still with its nature of often being covered. And therefore also sometimes is forgotten. The shift. And the shift was the garment that was closest worn to the body. The underdress and the all-in-one underwear. And by its simple nature. Universal use. The cut and construction. It stayed the same for centuries on end. Barely changing up until the 19th century. Though outer clothing as a rule was made by craftsmen and tailors. Linen clothing, including shifts, were sewn by the women in the homes. Using fine stitches. Strong and durable for frequent and thorough use and wash. With the change of outer fashion. Small adjustments can though be seen. By the 17th century. Before and after as well. It became fashionable to show off your shifts in some way. Having your clean and neat shift just pick up a little bit. In the cuffs and by the neckline. This obviously impacted the shifts. And therefore if you could afford it. You just filled your shift full of lace trimmings and ruffles. The shift also grew fuller. Gathered together in the cuffs and at the neckline. But this is how the wealthy had their shifts. How Kerstin Persdotter in Mjölhult. Strange name. Had her shift. We don't know. And the thing is we might never know that. Because her shift isn't preserved. It was never talked about. And in some time in history it was worn out and forgotten. Maybe it was just this super simple cut. Found in the middle ages for example. With just straight pieces. Or maybe it was a little bit more fashionable than that. And claiming that this style was new. Is somewhat of an overstatement. Many patterns that I can find. Original pieces and artwork from the 16th century. Show nothing else. And by the 17th century. I see that false shift everywhere. For example as an inspiration. I have looked much into this painting. It's Danish. Showing a gathering outside a castle. With people from all social classes. Which is not that common. And for me this painting has been very interesting. Just because of that. And also because there is barely anything similar from Sweden. I mean we barely have any painting of a common person from Sweden during this time. And well Denmark is quite close by. In this painting anyway. We see many of the women. Wearing some type of white top underneath their kirtles. It could be partlets. It could be fine shirts. Worn just on the upper body for this fine occasion. Or it could be their shifts. And by the style. It seems like a simple shift. Gathered together to a high collar at the neck. Paired with full sleeves gathered together to a cuff. And this is very similar to shifts found in other European material. For example. A good example. Dutch artwork. Who was eminent when it came to depict just this. Similar cut and style can also be seen higher up in society. Where we actually have some originals left from the time. We can look at 16th century shifts. From the Elizabethan period. And I mean we can even look at men's shirts as similar as they are. Which means that inspiration to this project. Actually can be taken from the surviving clothing from the Stugre members. Three Swedish noblemen that was brutally murdered in 1567. But with their clothing remaining and surviving to this day. And I have always been interested in looking more into that clothing. And I actually think this might be a good excuse to it. So as a conclusion. What I'm trying to do in this video. Is that I'm going to try to make a shift. That was likely for a working woman in the last half of the 17th century. To wear in southern Sweden. But this style. Cut and video. Can be used for men's shirts and earlier periods as well. For example. If you're doing the 16th century. So to start. I'm going to draw up the basic layout or pattern. If you even can call it that. This is basically exactly the same as I use for my medieval and 18th century shifts. And even the base for my medieval kurtles. The measurements is going to be taken from a book. Called 17th century woman's dress patterns. Published and based on garments from Victorian Albert Museum. And that is going to be blend with my personal measurements. From my old shifts. With a little difference of doing the main body pieces and sleeves. A little bit wider. Since they're going to be gathered. And then you can do a mock-up if you are uncertain. And I have actually never done and succeeded with a gathered big full shift before. So maybe I would need to do that. But since the pattern is so simple. I don't think I will do that. And I also need to do this shift within this week. So with no time left to lose. Let's get started. So to be able to make a shift. We obviously need something to make it out of. And here I have my little pile of linen fabric. I somewhere in the thought process of this project. Decided to only have materials and fabrics that I could find. Either at home or second hand or in a thrift store. And this pile is actually only just that. And as a little touch. A little plus in the corner. These linens are actually hand woven. And you can see that if you want to search for ones yourself. You can see that a fabric is hand woven by looking at the selvage. So I can show the selvage to you. The edge going here. It has a very distinct, you know, nice looking edge here. Which you don't really find on new fabrics that you buy on a modern fabric shop. But as usual. According to all of my projects. And also according to the historical use of fabric. I don't have that much. So I think we could go through the linens that I do have. And firstly we have this one. Which is actually the biggest piece. So it's this big. Yeah. But the quality is quite stiff. It's quite sturdy. And I don't really think this might be suitable for the upper half of the sleeves. Maybe the lower part though. I will think about that. And then I have this piece. Which is much smaller. But this quality I really, really like. So I think I will use this hopefully in the sleeves. Because I hope it's enough for both of the sleeves. Like so. And then I actually have the old shift. Which I never completed. I think I started with this like two, three years ago. And then I never finished it. Because it was always too small for me. But it's, you know, it's almost, almost done. I have the gores and not the sleeves. But, you know, it's mostly done. This is made out of an old sheet I got from my grandparents. And the linen is, it's very well used. So it's very soft and very nicely woven. But still, still not she. And I think it doesn't give that, you know, luxurious vibe to it. It's still this usable and wearable linen. So I think this, I hope to make my main body. And more specifically the visible and upper part of the shift out of this. But I can't really use this construction as it is. I need to rip this apart and completely redo this. And also have this little bit which I have left for the sleeves. I think do the front piece out of this actually. Because it's very soft and it gathers very nicely. I don't know. I think I will need to lay all of these pieces out on the floor. And do some measuring to this. And then try to puzzle this shift together. And one thing I will keep in mind when doing this shift is very much that if you look at antique and old shifts, chemises, smocks or whatever you want to call them. Especially the working ones in that extent that they are preserved. Most of them aren't, unfortunately. But sometimes you actually see the shifts being divided around the waist somewhere. Or you have the finer the fabric you wanted to show in the upper part. And then you have something more, you know, usable and sturdy at the bottom. So I think I will do some similar solution like that in order to make this work. Now that the basic rectangles of the shift is done, it's time to look at the gores. I was debating with myself how I would do that. Because I knew that I have an old shift, you know, that I talked about earlier. That I maybe could borrow the gores from. But then I thought, would that be a good sewing, you know, video where I just borrowed stuff from different types of clothing? And then I thought, yes! Because my goal with this video is to show how maybe people thought in historical times. When fabric and materials were expensive and much more valuable than today. So, you know, taking stuff and different parts from other types of clothing. It's not maybe that much of a bad idea. So that is exactly what I've done now. I've ripped the gores from my old shift. Maybe they are a tad too short, but I think that will work anyway. And here they are in all their glory. I hope they will work well anyway. But if you don't have a ready-to-rip-apart shift at home. I understand not everyone has that as an ordinary household item, unfortunately. Making your own gores is not that difficult at all. Because really the only thing you will need is a long rectangle. I think the base of this is 20 centimeters wide and 70 centimeters long. And then I just divide that into half from corner to corner. And then I've just sewed it together in the middle here to create this triangle shape. But as usual, when you're doing it for yourself, maybe you will need to change those measurements a little bit. But otherwise, it's just the same stitches, the same thread. And then we're going to assemble these to our shift. Or soon-to-be shift. And how I will do that, you can do this in different ways. You could, for example, sew together the rectangles now, the shoulder seam here. I, on the other hand, think I will do that a bit later than that. So I'm going to lay my two pieces out. And then I'm going to place these gores where I want them to be. I usually want mine to begin a bit higher up than the natural waist. So that we really have some width going on when we come down to our hip. And when you're happy with your placement, we're just going to pin our gores and then sew them in place. So now that the gores are sewn in place, and after I've also ironed them, I'm going to just place my shift onto the floor and pin the upper edges where I want them to be. And then sew the shoulder seams, which is just a couple of stitches in each corner of the huge rectangle. Which means that I'm not going to do anything around the neckline. Now, anyway, I'm going to save that for later. Because now I'm going to start with the sleeves. And to be able to get some inspiration, I looked into my old shifts that I do have. And the thing is that most of them have these straight, very simple sleeves. And I don't think I will have that in this shift, actually. So I looked into a modern summer dress that I sewed this spring. And that one actually has these voluminous, quite big sleeves, which I really like. And if I don't remember wrong... Let's see... 23 centimeters wide. Well, and that means that I need something that is approximately 50 centimeters wide, and 50 centimeters long. And I actually think I have that. Because out of my poor, poor, slaughtered old shift, I have one piece left. Which is the back piece. And the back piece is actually no less than 50 centimeters wide and 50 centimeters long. Which is perfect! So I'm just going to divide this into two. Sew the two sleeves. And then I'm going to cut out two small square-shaped pieces. And these are later going to be placed underneath the sleeve itself. So you can move your arm better. And the sleeves and those squares are going to be sewn together. And the sleeve itself is going to be folded and sewn together in the bottom, so that you have a seam running alongside your underarm. So when I was happy with how the slit in the front looked, I then turned to the neckline. And as you may know, this neckline is going to be gathered. And to be able to make that look nice and neat, we need to add a little, little gusset. And this is something you can see very much in original shifts from the time. Which is basically just a little, little triangle that you insert where the collar is going to be. And this is something that is done to make that very strange neck shape to be a little, little more rounded. And when looking at those originals, I was always quite uncertain how that really was done. So I looked into Morgan Donner's video, where she sews a very, very similar shift. And I can very, very much recommend that, if you are interested in making a shift similar to this one. Because she explains this very, very well. So I can link it below if you want to watch it. But what I did then is that I wanted to make sure that this was going to fit me. And I really wanted to try the neck situation here. So I just took some thread and just bossed this very, very quickly together. And just throw it on a little, you know, collar piece. Just to, you know, see how this will look. So very, very quickly. That's why this looks so ugly. And as you can see, there's a reason to why you make gathered shifts much bigger than ordinary plain ones. Because gathered necklines takes much more fabric. And I did know this, and I thought I was adding quite much fabric to this shift. But the thing is, looking at this right now, I don't think that was enough. Because if you look at this one, I can back off a little bit. You know, when standing like this, it looks fine. The collar is open, and sometimes they are in pictures. But in quite many depictions, they are actually wearing their shifts closed like this. And here you might see where I'm going with this. Because as you can see, it's quite tight. And the first problem with this is that our shoulder seam has actually traveled up quite far here on the shoulder, which is not that good. When looking at the pictures from the time, we see more often than not that the shoulder seams are off the shoulder. Which is just because you wanted your shift to be big, because you wanted to be able to move around in it. This is not a fitted style. It is not, you know, made for the body really. And linen won't be stretching after it either. So you really want this room, which I'm not getting right now with that shoulder seam. And also, our sleeves are too short. Because I measured them from where I thought my shoulder seam was going to be placed. Which is here. So, right now I'm thinking about the solution to this. Which could be two things, basically. One is that I keep this as it is. Which means a small and quite unvoluminous shift. Which absolutely perhaps maybe existed. Or I rip this apart and add more fabric to it. And right now I'm leaning towards that last option. Yeah! Ripping apart hand-sewn seams. The funniest thing in the world. I finally have a whole shift again. And it's basically back to that point where I started before all of this. So now it's time to take all of that fabric and gather it at the neckline and at the cuffs. So I'm just going to use linen thread and running stitches. And then I'm going to add some fabric at the cuffs. I'm going to fell some seams in order to prevent it all from fraying apart. I'm going to hem my shift. And I'm going to do the last details on this. So let's not put any more time in this. We're just going to finish it now. Everything is hemmed. Everything is felled. All the details are in place. And the shift is finally done. This was a much longer project than I ever expected it to be. Mostly because I basically had to rip the whole thing apart and start over. Which was not that expected and not that fun. But looking at my finished result, I must say that I really like this shift. It's something about linen clothing. Because it's not that exciting to make. But the result, especially when it's ironed and pressed in place. The linen, especially this one, is almost glowing. And all the seams look so perfect and tidy. So I must say that I'm very happy with this shift. Especially with all the different details. Like the gathering, for example. How that looks together with the cuffs and the homemade hooks and eyes. And the details with the slit in the front. And I must even say that I'm very happy with the pacing. And how it's almost invisible when laying flat on the floor, for example. But when going outside and the sun catches the fabric. It just shows up in all its glory. And I actually think it looks quite beautiful. But I must say now, with the finished shift. That I completely understand my past self when deciding to make this a bit smaller. And then having to piece it bigger. Because when looking at this shift lying flat on the floor, it looks huge. I mean, if I would see this in a shop, I would rather buy it for my dad than for myself. So yeah, this shift is huge. But that's also one of the things that I love about it. Because it's so voluminous. But you have all of these gatherings at the cuffs and at the neckline. Which create all of these nice drapings in the fabric. And all of this makes this shift so incredibly comfortable. I didn't want to take it off. And looking at it with my kirtle. I think it really creates that specific silhouette that I'm striving for in this project. So, did I do it then? Did I succeed with my goal in this video? Which was create a working woman shift from the 17th century. Well, it's impossible to know. Maybe this shift is a little bit too perfectly ironed. And perfectly white. And perfectly clean right now. But what do I know? Garments must have been new in the 17th century too. So, that was it. I really hope you liked this video. And as usual, please let me know. Maybe subscribe or leave a comment. That always makes me happy. And you can be sure that I read everything. Even if I don't have the time to answer you. Soon my part two will come up. Which is where I sew my kirtle. I will hope you will like that video too. And until then, I hope you take care. And I'll see you soon.